London has an amazing new concert venue. The Wanamaker Playhouse, the Globe’s indoor venue, has already proved itself as an exciting theatre space since it opened in January. Last night saw the conclusion of its first series of concerts curated by guitarist John Williams. It was pure magic. The five stars apply equally to the music, the musicians and the venue.
The theatre is a chapel-like wooden horseshoe, lit by candles, and a glorious acoustic space seating around 350 people. An unamplified solo guitar is a quiet instrument but here it sounds magnificent with every detail audible. And there were three maestros playing last night from three very different backgrounds: John Williams with his crystal-clear but formal classical technique, John Etheridge with his subversive jazz style — the only one using electricity for his electric guitar and loops — and Derek Gripper, from South Africa, bringing African guitar into the classical mainstream.
Gripper heard the music of Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté about 25 years ago, saw him as a 20th-century J S Bach, and wanted to play his traditional music on guitar. The kora is a magnificent 21-string harp-lute from West Africa but Gripper has brilliantly transferred this repertoire onto a regular six string guitar. He sees Diabaté as the Segovia, or indeed John Williams, of the kora, championing it as a solo instrument. And Gripper brilliantly takes it back to the guitar. He’s opening a whole new repertoire of classical guitar music.
This beautiful acoustic space makes you hold your breath and focus in a way you never do in an amplified concert. You put more in and get more out. For everyone it was a revelation.
